Moondance
by LunaEstel
Summary: The war is over and many have died. Harry begins to feel again with the help of a certain silvereyed girl who teaches him that life goes on.
1. Rememberance

"NO!"

Luna woke with a start, her breathing coming in short, fast gasps. She had just been dreaming, but it had seemed so real. What had it been about? She couldn't remember. But it had been sad. That she knew. Her face was streaked with tears. She was consumed with a grief that wasn't her own. It was a sadness that had nothing to do with her life or feelings. It was like the feeling she had when her mother had died when she was nine, and she thought that the world didn't care. They didn't notice that a great light had gone out in the world. It felt like no one cared that this great person, her best friend, was no longer there to make a difference. She held back the urge to cry even more as she looked at her clock. It was 6:13, so she started to get ready for her busy day.

After dressing, she went around the house opening all the curtains just like her mother used to do. Then she went to the kitchen to start breakfast. Just as the early morning sun began to shine in to the kitchen, her dad walked in.

"Good morning Luna. You're up early," her dad said as he sat down at the table and opened the newspaper an owl had just delivered.

"I woke up early, so I decided to get an early start. Today is going to be busy. _Accio cups_," said Luna pointing her wand at the cabinet. Two tea cups came flying toward her. She put two bowls of porridge on the table.

"Why aren't we having eggs and bacon?" inquired Mr. Lovegood.

"Because you need to eat healthier. The war is over so now you have to worry about dying from a heart attack not from Death Eaters," explained Luna as she sat down across the table bringing the two cups of tea.

"Whatever you say daughter," said Mr. Lovegood grudgingly as they both started eating.

"Luna, I need you to go to the Ministry today to get an article from Maggie MacArthur. She works in the Pest Advisory Bureau. She should have her article on the Aqua Umbra done by now."

"Ok, I just have a few things to do here first. I'm going to Diagon Alley. Do you need anything?"

"No. But thanks for asking."

It was about 9:00 by the time Luna finally apparated to the Ministry. She noticed the new fountain in the Atrium. It was a golden phoenix about to take flight. It was a memorial to all those lost in the war and a symbol of rebirth. A lot of things had changed, and a lot of people were dead. Luna didn't realize it, but she had stopped walking as she thought about all those who had died. Dumbledore, Mr.Weasley, Percy, Snape, Mad-Eye Moody, Neville and Mrs. Longbottom, Flitwick, Shacklebolt, Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Seamus Finnigan, Ron, Ginny, and countless others. Luna remembered how she had once admired Ron because of his fiery spirit. She quickly realized that he and Hermoine were meant to be. They finally got together the summer after their sixth year. Hermoine was so devastated when Ron died. She blocked herself from all human contact for a month. Now that the war had been over for a year, she went back to working as hard as possible.

So many people Luna hadn't known had died. Muggles including Hermione and Harry's families.

Luna was brought back to reality when some one ran in to her, knocking her down. She looked over and saw the person who ran in to her was picking up his books. When they both stood up, Luna was shocked to see that it was none other than Harry Potter.


	2. A Window to the Past

**A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That belongs to J.K. Rowling, the genius. Goldengryffin375 beta reads my stories.**

**B/N: I just want to thank the wonderful LunaEstel for letting me beta this, and I also want to say to all who are reading this that it is hard to find time to write and beta with school and everything, so just be patient with us.**

Chapter 2: A Window to the Past

"Luna!"

"Harry."

"I haven't seen you in a long time," said Harry as he stood there looking dumbstruck.

"No. You haven't," replied Luna in her typical, blunt way while just staring at Harry.

"Er……how've you been?"

"I've been fine. But you haven't"

Her matter-of-fact response shocked Harry very much. He knew it was obvious he wasn't fine, but to be told this was surprising. Of course subtlety had never been one of Luna's strong points. She had never been afraid to speak her mind, and that's why it was perfect for her to write for her father's magazine.

"How's Auror training going?" asked Luna to break the silence.

"Fine. It's been a lot of work. I thought it would be easy after everything I've done, but I was wrong. I'm only a little ahead of everyone else."

"How's Hermione?"

Harry was amazed at how fast she could fire off questions. He barely had time to breathe. "She's fine. I talked to her a couple days ago. She says Healer training is going well. She's first in her class. Naturally." Harry chuckled as he remembered what Hermione was like back at Hogwarts. It felt like that was in a different life.

"That's nice," said Luna.

"What are you doing here?" This time the question came from Harry.

"I have to pick up an article about Aqua Umbras for the magazine. Then I was going to go to Diagon Alley. Would you like to accompany me?"

"Sure." Harry was surprised to hear himself say this. After the War was over, Harry hadn't been alone with anyone other than Hermione. But for some reason Harry knew that this would be good. He knew that he would have to open up to others sometime, and he always felt comfortable around Luna. This is probably because he knew she wouldn't judge him and that she has been through tuff times as well. She had seen her mother die, she was at the ministry that night in his fifth year, and she had fought at the final battle. If anyone could know how Harry felt, it was Luna.

So Harry went with Luna to get the article and then they apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. They decided to get a bite to eat before going to Diagon Alley. After they ordered, the silence was broken by Harry.

"Er…what's an Aqua Umbra?"

Luna responded without looking at Harry, but she continued to gaze into space. "They're water spirits. They form in puddles from the first rain after the Full Moon. If you capture it you can use it to see things from far away."

"That's interesting."

Neither knew what to say next, so as they waited for their food they each thought to themselves. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but one where you're just comfortable being in each other's presence. Harry thought about how he hadn't felt this comfortable with someone since Ginny died, not even Hermione. It was the first time since the War that he felt truly at ease. Once their food came, the conversation started again.

"Yesterday was the Full Moon, and it's going to rain tomorrow. Maybe you could come over to my house and I could show you the Aqua Umbras," said Luna as she took a huge bite of her sandwich.

The first thing Harry thought was that it was odd for someone to say it's _going_ to rain. Usually they say it's _supposed_ to rain.

"Er…Sure. Where do you live?"

"Ottery St. Catchpole."

Harry gasped. That is the village by the Burrow! Thinking about the Burrow made Harry think of Ron and Ginny and all the wonderful times they had had together there. The Burrow was like Harry's home. Harry found himself filled with sorrow thinking about his best friend and the love of his life. Voldemort had killed them right in front of Harry's eyes. Harry and Ginny had been engaged. Harry was brought back to reality when all of a sudden Luna burst out in tears.

"Why are you crying," Harry asked as his sorrow was replaced by shock.

"I…don't know. I just felt so sad. I'm fine now," replied Luna as she pulled herself together. She started eating again as if nothing had happened. How could someone burst out in tears not knowing why and then just push the thought away. This baffled Harry considerably. Wait. This is Luna.

"Well, I guess I will see you later," Luna said as she got up to leave. She grabbed her bag and the article and left without looking back.

Harry just sat there for what seemed like an age before paying and leaving.

As Luna walked down Diagon Alley she tried to steady herself. Why had she been so sad all of a sudden? It was just like that morning when she had woken up crying. It was again a sadness unrelated to her own feelings. And why was she so embarrassed? She didn't used to care what other people thought of her. She had been ridiculed so much that it was almost a complement when someone told her she was a freak. She enjoyed the fact that she was different.

By the time Luna was done with her shopping she was back to her normal, carefree self. She apparated home and went straight to her room, dropping the recently bought goods in the hallway, and closed the door with a soft thud. She leaned against the door for awhile letting her thoughts drift. After a moment she crossed the room and sat at her desk and started writing a letter. When she was done writing the letter she sealed it with wax. She preferred sealing it this way because it gave the letter a unique feeling. It's not like sealing a letter with wax is much harder than using magic.

She walked over to the window where a sleeping owl was perched. Luna gently woke the owl.

"I have something to ask of you Melian. I hoped you would take this letter to Harry Potter. I would very much appreciate it." The owl gave her a loving look and took the letter in her beak and flew off. "Thank you Melian."

With a sigh, Luna sat down on her soft bed after moving the bit of clothing from it. She looked over at her bedside table. There were three pictures, a few pieces of jewelry, a glass of water, and a small vase of wildflowers on the table. One of the pictures was of her and her dad in Sweden, another of her parents and her as a baby, and the one in the front was of her mother a month before she died. Luna picked up the picture of her mother. This picture always made Luna's heart ache. Why did her mother have to die? Luna had loved her mother more than anything in the world. Her mother had taught her everything about life. In this picture, Luna's mother was dancing around and smiling and laughing. This picture had been taken at her mother's last birthday party. Luna remembered the music and food and fun that night had been filled with. Her mom always said you should never miss an opportunity to have fun.

After looking at the picture for awhile, Luna got up and went to her dresser. From the top drawer she pulled out an old biscuit tin. It was filled with things Luna had collected all her life. Luna pulled out a worn, little piece of paper. It was a letter.

To My Dearest Daughter,

Happy ninth birthday. You are growing up so fast. Everyday you are bigger. You are the light of my life. I am so proud of you. When you are older I will have so many stories and thing to tell you, but today is your birthday and we are going to have lots of fun. Whatever happens remember to always be yourself and have fun. Life is for living so don't let people decide how you will live it.

Love,

Mom

Luna put the letter back in the tin and put the tin back in the drawer. Luna thought about that letter everyday. It was almost as if her mother knew something was going to happen to her. Luna got up and walked over to the window and tried to clear her mind. Right now was a time to be happy. The War was over and enough sorrow had been felt. With that thought Luna went back to her bed and fell asleep.


	3. Aqua Umbras

Chapter 3: Aqua Umbra

"So where do we find these things," inquired Harry as he and Luna were strolling along in the woods by her house. It was the next day and like Luna had said it would, it had rained. Harry had apparated to Luna's house along with the silver object just like Luna had instructed in the letter.

"They collect in puddles and don't move about itill night. They are usually all in the same puddle. They are very social spirits. They don't like to be alone." Luna said the last sentence very softly, almost to herself. After walking a bit farther, Luna went on to explain how to capture an Aqua Umbra. "All you have to do is dip the silver object in the puddle the Aqua Umbras are in and say a simple spell and they are trapped in the object. After about 24 hours the spell wears off unless you recite it and dip it in water again."

"How do you know what puddle they are in?"

"You'll see."

They walked on a little more and finally sat down on a fallen tree trunk near a good sized puddle in a little clearing among the trees. The clearing was just big enough to have approximately a two meter space in the tree branches overhead. There was a bright ray of moonlight shining down on the young witch and wizard. After about two hours of just sitting together and talking, Luna grabbed Harry's hand.

"Look at the puddle!" As she said this, she pointed enthusiastically toward the puddle and stood up, pulling Harry up with her. The puddle grew misty as dark spots began moving on the surface, as if dancing. A silvery mist rose from the spots and drifted about, shining as bright as the moon. Harry looked over at Luna. She had a smile on her face such as Harry had never seen before. It was a smile of ecstatic joy as if she had never known pain, only happiness. Her eyes shined like the mist dancing above the water. Harry thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. She squeezed Harry's hand even tighter.

"Now what," Harry whispered, breaking Luna from her trance.

"Dip your plate in the water." Luna regretted saying this because it meant that Harry had to let go of her hand. They bent down over the water, and Harry dipped the silver plate he had brought in the water. Luna muttered a spell as she pointed her wand at the plate. After the pale, blue light from her wand had faded, the plate looked like normal.

"To use it, you have to say the name of the place and then please," Luna informed him. "Well, actually you don't _have to_ say please, but it's polite and they will respond faster."

Harry racked his brain to think of a place to look. He decided on Hermione's flat.

"Er…Hermione Granger's flat…please." The plate grew misty and then a picture appeared. It was of a small, neat apartment kitchen. There was a 19-year-old girl sitting at the table pouring over books. There was parchment, quills, and teacups scattered all over the table. The girl's face could not be seen because it was bent low, but her hands could be seen keeping her hair out of her face. There were huge scars on both her hands. Harry recognized these scars from the final battle. NO. Harry refused to let the sadness overwhelm him. He had shed enough tears. The War was over and it was time to live for tomorrow, not dwell on the past.

Harry pulled his eyes away from the plate. The picture faded away leaving the plate blank. He turned to Luna. She was looking at him eagerly like a chief looks at a food critic taking the first bite of his dish.

"It works." A look of relief and happiness swept over Luna's face.

"As you see, the picture only last about a minute, but it's extremely clear and precise."

"Yes, it is."

Harry moved closer to Luna. Their hands brushed together. Without realizing it, Harry grabbed Luna's hand. Shocked by his actions, Harry looked at Luna. She was smiling that quirky smile of her's. No matter how surprised Harry was, he knew what he was doing felt right. After gazing at each other for awhile, Harry leaned forward and kissed Luna. Neither wanted to break the kiss. What seemed like an eternity later, they finally pulled apart. After a few more seconds of gazing, Harry apparated away, leaving Luna's hand cold. Luna stood there for who knows how long, smiling, before she too apparated home.

A/N: I'm sorry if this is cheesy. I've never dated so if anything is not right then please tell me. I'm trying my best. I really appreciate comments.


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